107th Dipsea Race: Sausalito’s Chris Lundy wins first title

Winner Chris Lundy, 46, of Sausalito is greeted by some of the top 35 finishers following the 107th Annual Dipsea in Stinson Beach, Calif. on Sunday, June 11, 2017. The 7.5-mile footrace is the oldest trail race in America. (Sherry LaVars/Special to Marin Independent Journal)

Sausalito’s Chris Lundy locked in on race leader Jamie Rivers with about six minutes to go and knew she had plenty of time to catch the decorated runner.

The only obstacle standing between Lundy and her first-ever Dipsea title was San Rafael’s Alex Varner, a speedster who began 11 minutes after Lundy and 24 behind Rivers and was closing in quickly.

Lundy, 46, passed Rivers with less than a mile remaining and crossed the finish line 20 seconds before Varner, capturing the 107th Dipsea crown on a chilly, windy Sunday morning at Stinson Beach. Lundy, who clocked in at 49 minutes, 9 seconds (1:01.09 without the handicap), entered Sunday’s race with three second-place finishes and six women’s best time awards. But never first place overall.

Lundy missed last June’s Dipsea — a 7.4-mile trail footrace from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach that’s handicapped by age, gender and previous performances — after undergoing hamstring surgery on her left leg — repairing a tendon avulsion that plagued her running career in previous years — in February 2016. Her lengthy recovery process only allowed her to run three races in the past two years, including Sunday’s Dipsea.

The hamstring didn’t bother her in the triumphant return, she said.

“Other than being a little undertrained, I felt good,” said Lundy, a veterinarian in San Francisco who was a member of the US Track and Field Mountain Running Team from 2005-13. “I felt really good for once. Everything just came together on the right day. No injuries make a big difference.

“It feels great. I’m really happy. It was (the goal to win), but I would’ve been OK if I didn’t. I just wanted to feel good racing. I really haven’t raced much in a couple of years, so I’m just trying to get the feel for it and enjoy it again.”

Rivers, 66, led for nearly the entire race, nothing uncommon for the two-time champion. But she maintained her advantage much longer than in recent years, prompting a bit of concern for the Mill Valley resident. Rivers finished with a clock time of 50:08, producing a run time of 1:15.08.

“It’s pretty nerve-wracking leading the entire time,” Rivers said. “You have to run your own race, and because it’s a handicapped race, you can’t get upset when someone passes you because it’s you against the clock. “You think, ‘Don’t look behind, you keep moving forward, sister.’ This is their race.

“It’s thrilling because I’m so excited for Chris. I’ve known her for a million years and I’ve known Alex for a million years, and I’m so thrilled for both of them.”

Varner, 31, a perennial favorite, recorded the fastest time (50:29 run time) for the seventh straight year, one shy of the Dipsea record. This was the first Dipsea in which Varner, whose clock time was 49:29, was awarded any advantage, albeit just one minute.

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“That minute helped a lot,” he said. “There’s no love for scratch runners in this race.”

Second place is a new personal record for Varner, who began methodically picking off runners around Cardiac.

“This race is all about place,” Varner said. “I couldn’t quite get Chris, but close enough. I’m very happy with it.

“It’s a rush the whole time, and before you know it, it’s done. The first flight of steps, I was like, ‘Uh oh, this could hurt a lot,’ but it never got worse. It was very manageable, thankfully.”

Jamie and Roy added another family title to the trophy case. The two have combined to win three Dipseas, seven Double Dipseas and two Quad Dipseas.

“This is our Christmas,” said Jamie Rivers, who stole the show at the post-race ceremony with a brief but animated speech. “This is what we live for: Dipsea day. The Dipsea gods are smiling on all of us. And we’re has-beens; we’re too old to be doing this.